Falling Dollars, Falling Savings Rates and Suze Orman

As part of the Save Yourself Ameritrade program with Suze Orman, I get these regular, rather conversational, Suze emails. Mostly, they are reminders to check my savings program statements and to feel good about saving money. Today’s email mentioned a disturbing trend I’ve noticed since September - the wonderfully high online savings accounts rates (between 5-6%) are dropping fast.

As of right now you get still find a few places with rates above 5% (and I am thinking about FNBO Direct in particular). My previously great Emigrant Direct rate of 5.10% fell to 4-something. While I’m wondering if it’s worth my “Duck” time to switch the money over to FNBO, in today’s email from Suze I am warned that rates are probably going to fall even more in the next few months. She advised finding decent CD rates at longish terms (like nine months) to lock in savings.

It’s a real bummer. We are finally growing our savings from zero, and rates are dropping. We are finally stashing money in 401ks and Roth IRAs…while the dollar falls and the stock market limps along. And yes, so far we’ve lost hundreds of our principle in those accounts. All I can do is cross my fingers and hope everyone’s advice to ride out the bad times proves correct.

Bad timing or simply my endless supply of bad karma?

27 Fling Boogie

I just got a message from Flylady about doing a 27 Fling Boogie and got up and did it. I try to remember to do these once a week…and end up usually forgetting. So just now I rushed around and found 27 things to get rid of (trash, recycle). I should also do another 27 Fling Boogie for things to donate to Goodwill, but I feel happy for now. Plus, with my local Flybaby group I will be doing a paper purge tonight from 5-7pm. All the Washington Flybabies will be purging their papers, so it will be like an accountability meeting, but in a more virtual sense than the meetings I have with my husband.

I look forward to some productive paper decluttering tonite.

Nov 15 Task Notes

I feel raring to go today. The weather is crap, but I am up early and am excited to get a lot done.

Done:

• Transfered funds between accounts
• Decided about whether to fix car brakes
• Took nap
• Made Secret Santa address list
• Read through Dwell mags
• Laundry, dishes, trash, recycling, mopped kitchen, cleaned bathroom, cleaned kitchen counters
• Organized blog themes
• Planned evening

Need to do:

• Send bank note and thank you letter
• Order magazine from Taylor
• BeMused notes to Lisa, Diane, Donna
• Answer emails
• Start moving Business Blogs and year old articles from Suite
• Wash dog
• Workout and bath
• Catch up on Suite
• Paragon receipts to Dan/Adell
• Follow up on prelim reports from BeMused
• Goodwills to car, mags to reading room
• Plan week

Week From Nov 15

Nov 15th, 2007 by Involvaholic | 0

I can plan out my week starting from a Thursday, can’t I?

• Thursday - Nov 15: Plan week.
• Friday - Nov 16: Secret Santa addresses need to be in. Put on index cards. Pay Eclectic Lady. Wash dog. Make Bemused reports. Clear revised disables on Suite. Call about Apollo. Call Bunny Resort. Discuss Xmas plan.
• Saturday - Nov 17: Mix and match names, tell people who will be Santas. Lush party - RSVP and pick stuff up for Dan. Return Sephoras, return BB&B. Catch up on Suite edits. Thx card for personal banker and filled form to bank.
• Sunday - Nov 18: Jessica’s dog b’day party (need gift for Leon). Organize bookshelves by category.
• Monday - Nov 19: 6pm, Osiris meeting with Dan.
• Tuesday - Nov 20: Print Suite contract. 6pm Thanksgiving Dinner at 989, 7pm movie (Planes, Trains and Automobiles).
• Wed - Nov 21: BeMused Final Team Report deadline. Design team layout begins.
• Thursday - Nov 22: Thanksgiving. Head to Seattle for dinner with Tom and Karen.
• Friday - Nov 23: Catch up on work, pack for weekend.
• Sat - Nov 24: Drive to Bunny Resort
• Sun - Nov 25: Hike at Cascades Park (Newhalem Trails). Drive back home.

Giving to Goodwill

I also still feel I need to sell our used possessions instead of simply dropping them off at Goodwill. Someone should tell me firmly that the 100 or so dollars I might earn selling our used books and clothes will be a lot more effort than it’s worth. Wait. I will write a post-it note about that and stick it up somewhere…okay, it’s done. Can I take this crud out to my car now for Goodwill?

Moved Our Bedroom

Last week we moved our bed into the bedroom and now have our offices out in the living room, like normal people. I am shocked at how much extra room we have. On another great note, I am sleeping through most nights now. I think I like having an actual bedroom. There is also enough room for a reading/boudoir area for me. Very nice.

My new desk is a 2×6 foot board from Home Depot. That’s a funny thing: Dan and I bought me several actual expensive desks over the years (Ikea, Fry’s), and none of them were “right.” Before marriage, I always threw down a door over two file cabinets. And that worked well. So now that’s basically what I asked for in my new office area. I am a cheap date.

Because of the mini-move, I am, of course, behind again at work and in life:

What have I been doing?

Moving around my computers and papers and books. Putting things away and taking them back out, then putting them away elsewhere. Checking email too much, which is a problem. Dealing with dogs - Samson, Apollo, Frodo. Screwing around reading on the Internet. Pricing purses on eBay, looking up land in Valle and Crestline…basically wasting time.

What’s been productive today?

Some Suite work (never seems like enough time to actually get anywhere - this stuff is endless), lots of BeMused work (deadlines are up), other BellaOnline community work (Secret Santas). Setting up the new blogs. Looking at themes for the blogs, setting up widgets and categories, first entries, bookmarks. Getting things started.

What I really need to do today:

Workout (maybe while watching WNTW), clean Coach bag, look over Paragon receipts, mop floors, clean out tub, move CD to savings, notes to Joy’s door, bath or shower, finish laundry, finish dishwasher, change linens, air out apartment, water plants, take out trash, RSVP for Lush party Saturday, plan weekend, call Bunny Resort for thanksgiving weekend, order magazines from Taylor.

What I really need to do this week:

Workout. Ask Lisa to change the Be Mused masthead. Drop off info at Bank. Finish Dan’s Roth. Secret Santa addresses needed…also do the shuffle this weekend and pas out names by Monday. Return curtain poles to BB&B (need receipts). Also find Sephora receipts and do returns. Get back to Donna about Bemused text and Diane about design. Clean out freezer, thank you note to Diane at the bank, get free iPod music, set up computer speakers, have Osiris and Involvaholic Accountability meetings.

And…?

In the Good News Department, Dan had three interviews in the last 24 hours and I think they all want him. He’s just sexy like that.

Checking Email at Work

I get really bogged down in answering various work emails - it becomes a long, drawn out process, where I sit here all day and keep checking in. I get sidetracked from other work when I feel I have to send out answers.

Answering Emails:

• Answer yesterday’s emails before 1pm. Any emails that arrive later than 1pm get answered on the next business day.
• Make a Signature for my work emails and an Auto Responder for the Suite addy indicating just that.
• Refuse to answer any emails over weekends and holidays.
• Undo the Permanent status of my email pages. (Done!)

Suze Orman

Nov 8th, 2007 by Involvaholic | 0

I have Suze Orman’s MyFico Kit, own her Ultimate Protection Portfolio, use the Action Planners in the Young, Broke & Fabulous and Women & Money programs, the and own every one of her published books. I have the Wills and Trusts Kit and am a member of her Save Yourself Ameritrade Program (for a free $100!).

I’d still be a financial wreck without Suze. I found her a year ago and am finally climbing out of the Black Hole of Money Mistakes. This is after almost two decades of determined financial mismanagement. Am I proud of myself? You bet.

Credit Report Repair in Progess

Credit Report Repair in Progess

Nov 8th, 2007 by Involvaholic | 0

I’ll be discussing in detail how my credit repair has progressed since I started with Suze Orman’s MyFico program. I actually managed to get a few credit items removed from my report by being persistent and patient. I was told by a phone expert via an employee assistance program that non-errors are almost NEVER removed. So I am feeling cocky.

The first step, of course, to fixing your credit is to know the state of your credit. This is where I started, with this link to free credit reports (you can one free report from each of the three companies per year).

You can also use this Experian program to get a free credit SCORE, which is the next step after you get a report. Note - You have to sign up for a free trail version of their program first: Get your FREE credit score. You do have to mark your calendar to remove yourself from the program after the trial period, unless you wish to keep the service going.

Nov 7 Notes

Did Do - Wrote and mailed student loan, vacuumed, charged vacuum, emptied trash and brought down recycling, scrubbed trash can, linens laundry load, ran dishwasher, swept floor, dusted, watered plants, decluttered, books put away, aired out apartment, moved desk around, looked up Dan stuff, edited Suite, worked onBeMused, made calendar notes, blog notes to Dan.

Still to Do - work out, get car, walk to town for errands, take a bath. Empty dishwasher, dishes away, laundry away both loads, stain off sheet, mop floor, layout notes on BeMused. Need license info for Dan to follow up on his paperwork - send email to remind him.

PM - Accountability meeting with Dan. Set up new blogs and themes. Nice night for a bath?